Association deal to turn Ukraine into a modern European state
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also in this issue:
Britain’s companies increased interest of investing in Ukraine Page 4
Investment in Ukraine are expected to rise on the eve of Eurobasket Page 3
Ukraine a powerful player on global agricultural market Page 5
Ukraine Digest, Thursday, May 23, 2013
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ukraine - eu
A
SSOCIATION Agreement is a historic document that will help turn Ukraine into a modern European state, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said in his congratulations on Europe Day. “Today we are approaching the conclusion of an Association Agreement with the European Union, a historical document, the implementation of which should give impetus to transform Ukraine into a modern European state. Over the past two years,
Association deal to give impetus to Ukraine’s transformation into modern European state Creating a Free Trade Area between Ukraine and the EU is a priority for economic development the President of Ukraine and the government have worked hard to prepare for the signing of this Agreement, which contributed to the completion of negotiations and initialling of the document in 2012,” Azarov said. He noted that Ukraine has demonstrated a willingness to continue the political, socio-economic, legal and institutional reforms to strengthen economic inte-
gration and political association with the EU. The head of government also added that creating a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Ukraine and the EU is a priority for economic development, a powerful incentive for the modernization of the national economy, creating additional opportunities for the entry of Ukrainian enterprises and companies to foreign markets.
Azarov emphasized that the government will continue to exert the necessary efforts for effective adaptation of Ukraine with EU legislation and implementation of internal institutional reforms under the EU - Ukraine Association Agenda. He believes that these steps will make it possible to sign the Association Agreement with the EU during the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius in November 2013 and start a new phase of strategic relations between Ukraine and the EU.
Ukraine celebrates Europe Day
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UROPE DAY in Ukraine is celebrated on the third Saturday of May. The residents of Ukraine mark it as a day of shared values, common history of all the nations of the continent. Traditionally, the opening ceremony of Europe Day is held in Kyiv. On Khreschatyk street the so-called “European camp” is mounted with the assistance of the EU Delegation to Ukraine and the embassies of the EU member states. This camp consists of pavilions representing Ukraine, each EU member state, the European Commission and international organizations. The pavilions present geography, culture, the history of largest cities of the member states,
public debate with ambassadors and representatives of the Ukrainian authorities, quizzes on European themes and language courses, “corners of the national dishes,” etc. In recent years the practice of large-scale celebration of Europe Day throughout Ukraine has been successfully tested. Besides taking part in the official opening of Europe Day, there are meetings of ambassadors of EU member states with representatives of local authorities, students and lecturers at local universities, nongovernmental and civil society organizations, and the media. Ukraine is the only nonEU member state, where Europe Day is celebrated at the nationwide level. www.ukremb.org.uk
Ukraine Digest, Thursday, May 9, 2013
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eurobasket 2015
On Tuesday, May 21 Ukraine started building new arena in Dnipropetrovsk city for the EuroBasket 2015 European Basketball Championship. Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych laid down the capsule on the place of construction of the sports and entertainment arena
Investment in Ukraine are expected to rise on the eve of Eurobasket
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KRAINE has a huge tourism potential and is waiting for the flow of investment in the tourism industry. “Ukraine is open to investment in the tourism industry. In particular, about a million fans are expected to come to Ukraine for EuroBasket 2015... We’re inviting investors to develop the hotel business, ensure demand for air transportation, etc,” Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Vilkul said. During preparations for European Basketball Championship it is planned to build six modern multifunctional arenas for 15,000 seats in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Odesa, Kharkiv and Lviv. Later they will be used for international exhibitions, concerts and cultural events, including competitions in more than 100 sports, including basketball and hockey. At least 100,000 people would be engaged in the construction of infrastructure facilities for this champi-
Ukraine expects the arrival of more than one million fans during the final tournament of the European Basketball Championship in 2015
onship and at least 10,000 would be involved in the operation and maintenance of these facilities. Ukraine also intends to create a comfortable environment for the fans who are planning to attend EuroBasket 2015. New runways and terminals will be built at airports in Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk. “The estimated value of the construction of runways in Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa will be three billion hryvnias. The estimated cost of the terminal that will be financed by private investors will be about one-anda-half billion hryvnias,” Vilkul said. He also recalled that private investors, apart from their own investment, would raise loans for the construction of terminals. Interest rates on loans will be repaid by the state. The state’s investment in the European basketball championship will amount to around UAH 7 billion.
The Kalmius Arena in Donetsk, a modern multipurpose sports arena, will build ahead of the EuroBasket 2015
www.ukremb.org.uk
Ukraine Digest, Thursday, May 23, 2013
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ukraine - uk
Britain’s companies increased interest of investing in Ukraine At end-2012 bilateral trade for the first time in the history of Ukrainian-British relations exceeded USD 3 billion
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MBASSADOR of Ukraine to the United Kingdom Volodymyr Khandogiy sees positive trends in economic cooperation and investment between Ukraine and the UK. It was stated at the interview og the Ukrainian Ambassador to Ukrinform. “I am pleased to say that over the past few years, bilateral trade and economic cooperation between Ukraine and the United Kingdom has been active and maintained a positive trend, despite the crisis in Europe. I am sure that 2013 will continue the trend of growing interest of British companies in investment projects in Ukraine,” the diplomat emphasized. Khandogiy informed that at end2012 bilateral trade for the first time in the history of Ukrainian-British relations exceeded USD 3 billion. “So
The EBRD is one of the biggest investors into Ukrainian economy. At the photo: the Ambassador of Ukraine Volodymyr Khandogiy and the EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti at the EBRD headquaters in April 2013
Britain is today Ukraine’s fourth largest trading partner among European countries and eleventh in the world,” the Ambassador said. Also Khandogiy noted that in terms of investment in the economy of Ukraine United Kingdom continues to be in the top ten of the largest foreign investors. “In particular, at the end of last year, it took the sixth place
with a total investment of USD 2.6 billion,” the diplomat noted. The Ambassador expressed the hope that the effective economic cooperation between the states will strengthen the strategic partnership and enable to reach a new level of mutually beneficial cooperation between Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
MEP Rouček: Economy a priority in EU-Ukraine relations
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ICE-CHAIR of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament Libor Roucek (pictured) has said he believes that the economy is a priority in relations between Ukraine and the European Union. “Economic issues should be a priority in relations between Ukraine and the EU. Politicians from different countries should unite for the sake of economic growth, lower unemploy-
ment, etc. In this regard, the Association Agreement, including the creation of a free trade area, is very important and we need to focus on this,” Roucek said. At the same time, he said that in recent months Ukraine has made significant progress in conducting reforms and meeting the EU requirements for the signing of the Association Agreement. The former vice-president of the European Parliament stressed the
significant role of the European Parliament’s monitoring mission of Aleksander Kwasniewski and Pat Cox, which was created at the initiative of the Ukrainian prime minister and European Parliament President Martin Schulz. “Europe started better understanding that there’s no ‘magic key’ to the case of [former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia] Tymoshenko,” he said, adding that the issue should be resolved exclusively in a legal manner. www.ukremb.org.uk
Ukraine Digest, Thursday, May 23, 2013
agriculture
U
KRAINE demonstrates significant success on the world agricultural market,” the President Viktor Yanukovych said at the 25th Agro-2013 International AgroIndustrial Exhibition. “Agricultural sector of our country once again demonstrates growth in comparison to other sectors in difficult economic conditions. Due to Ukrainian agriculture, we satisfy the needs of domestic market as well as constantly increase export of agricultural products,” the President said.
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Ukraine a powerful player on global agricultural market
Particularly, he stressed: “Since 2007, the share of agricultural products in total export of Ukraine has almost doubled and in 2012 it was 27%. Overall in 2012, agricultural export has shown unprecedented growth - nearly 40% and equaled more than 18 billion USD”. Ukraine has proved in recent years that it is a powerful player on the global agricultural market. “Our state is a stable leader on the world grain market. One in eleven tons of grain sold on the world market last year was domestically produced. We have an about 9% share in
global trade in grain crops,” Viktor Yanukovych said. He said that the world is interested not only in Ukrainian grain, but also in animal products. Ukraine currently supplies domestically produced poultry to the EU, he said. “We’re gradually developing new markets for our own agricultural products: Japan, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa,” he said. “Our main task is to preserve these trends and provide a systematic and powerful impulse for growth,” Yanukovych said.
Foreign investment in Ukraine’s agriculture could double this year
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OREIGN investment in the agricultural sector of Ukraine will grow and already this year could double, reaching about USD 6 billion, Ukraine’s Agrarian Policy and Food Minister Mykola Prysiazhniuk said . “Last year we attracted such investment of more than USD 3 billion, and I am confident that this year it will not be less. And next year it could be
USD 6 billion. It is just the amount that meets to the needs of the pace of the agricultural sector and, by the way, meets the external markets,” the minister noted. This estimate includes both direct investment and extension of loans and investment through the arrival of new companies to the Ukrainian market and through our companies’ entry to stock markets.
Characterizing Ukraine’s cooperation in the agricultural sector with foreign investors from China, the Middle East, the European Union and the United States, Prysiazhniuk said: “The most important thing of all is that I’m glad that they are not set to compete, and are set to join efforts.” The minister concluded that investing in the agricultural sector is growing “as fairly rapidly as possible.” www.ukremb.org.uk
Ukraine Digest, Thursday, May 23, 2013
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eurovision 2013
Zlata Ognevich comes home with bronze from Eurovision BBC’s commentator Graham Norton said giant Igor Vovkovinskiy carrying Ukrainian singer Zlata Ognevich was the best Eurovision entrance ever.
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t might not have been the top prize, but Ukrainian singer Zlata Ognevich was still happy to make the podium with her song “Gravity,” behind the winner Denmark and runner-up Azerbaijan. “I’ve done all that I had to and all that I could do. I’m quite satisfied with the result,” the 26 year old Zlata said. Zlata Ognevich took the third place with 214 points at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö
(Sweden). Ukrainian entry “Gravity” had drawn media attention after it be-
came clear that singer Zlata Ognevich would be carried on stage by a 2.34-meter tall “giant” meant to symbolize her inner strength. The seven foot eight inch man, now officially the tallest person in the United States, lifted Ukraine’s singer Zlata Ognevich onto the stage like a giant in a fairytale. BBC’s commentator Graham Norton introduced Ukraine as the best Eurovision entrance ever.
A literary evening with Oksana Zabuzhko
Wed 5 June 7.30m, Venue: Rich Mix, London (Free)
T
he Dash Café, in partnership with English PEN and the PEN Atlas and the British Ukrainian Society, presents a literary evening with Oksana Zabuzhko We are proud to bring famed Ukrainian author Oksana Zabuzhko to London, for this event in collaboration with English PEN, to discuss her lat-
est novel The Museum of Abandoned Secrets (English translation by Nina Shevchuk-Murray, published by AmazonCrossing, October 2012). Spanning sixty tumultuous years of Ukrainian history, this multigenerational saga weaves a dramatic and intricate web of love, sex, friendship, and death. At its centre: three women linked by the abandoned secrets of
the past secrets that refuse to remain hidden. From the dim days of World War II to the eve of Orange Revolution, The Museum of Abandoned Secrets is an “epic of enlightening force” that explores the enduring power of the dead over the living. Oksana will also participate in a panel discussion with Igor Pomerantsev and Dr Andrew Wilson: explorFor more information, please, contact Oksana Kyzyma, Press Secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine to the UK
ing the historical and politicial context of modern Ukrainian literature, and the role of fiction writers in determining the country’s contemporary identity. Oksana Zabuzhko is Ukraine’s leading contemporary author. Her 1996 novel Field Work in Ukrainian Sex was described as “the most influential Ukrainian book for the 15 years of independence”. Tel.: 020 7727 6312 E-mail: press@ukremb.org.uk Address: 60 Holland Park, London W11 3SJ
Issue #12, May 23, 2013 In the preparation of this issue materials of UKRINFORM were used